Are you still receiving paper statements or documents from Schwab? Here is how to switch to paperless delivery at Schwab in just a few steps. Log in to your Schwab account at SchwabAlliance.com. Click on the Profile tab in the top right corner, then select Paperless from the drop-down menu. Click Enroll Eligible Accounts to switch to paperless delivery for …
Client Spotlight: Doctors, Advocates, Leaders
Park Piedmont clients Dr. Marcia Faustin and Dr. Toussaint Mears-Clarke have had a big year. Dr. Marcia Faustin spent much of July and August in Paris as the co-head team physician for the gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team. Dr. Faustin, an assistant professor and Family Medicine and Sports Medicine physician at the UC Davis Health Medicine Sports Clinic, was …
Park Piedmont Named ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Award Finalist
We’re honored to share that Park Piedmont has been named a ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Award 2024 Finalist for Thought Leadership and Education. What is a ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Award? From ThinkAdvisor: ThinkAdvisor’s Luminaries Awards redefine excellence in financial services, shining a spotlight on outstanding contributions from both organizations and individuals. “The 2024 Luminaries Awards continue to push the boundaries of …
Should the Fed’s Rate Cut Shift Your Investing Strategy?
Much has been reported about the Federal Reserve’s reducing interest rates by 50 basis points, lowering the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%. The move represents a pivot from the past two years of rate hikes, which were designed to combat inflation, and signals the Federal Reserve’s conclusion that inflation — down to 2.5% from a peak …
The Importance of Trust
Trust is at the core of the relationship between client and advisor. That’s why trustworthiness is one of Park Piedmont’s core firm values, guiding the way we approach our work. Firm Value: Trustworthiness There are many ways we strive to make sure this value of trust shows up in our day-to-day work: acting as a fiduciary, always putting your (and …
The Way We Do Our Work Matters
Park Piedmont’s mission is to help our clients gain clarity and peace of mind in their life with money. In doing so, we promise fiduciary guidance that’s principled, personal, and practical. Personal and practical are fairly straightforward — but what do we mean by “principled”? Park Piedmont has ten firm values. Each one informs the way we work with our …
Obstacles to Successful Long-Term Investing
In March of 2016, and as published in our book Thinking About Investing, we added to our behavioral finance principles by discussing Richard Thaler’s book, Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, and articles in The New York Times “Your Money” section from March 27, 2016. The point of the discussion was to present some of the personality traits that can …
A Note on Recent Market Declines
In case you missed it, we’re re-publishing the note we wrote originally on August 5, 2024, when the S&P 500 stock index declined by 3%. Stocks have been up and down since, with the S&P gaining 2.3% on August 8. This is yet another example of why it’s impossible to make short-term predictions about market movements, and why it’s therefore …
The Importance of Estate Planning and Beneficiaries
Estate planning is a vital piece of any financial plan. No matter how well a person has saved and invested their money over time, inaction or procrastination when it comes to wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations can have disastrous consequences. Without valid, up-to-date documents in place, one’s assets may be distributed in suboptimal ways – either because the intended beneficiaries …
No One Can Predict the Future
“Our approach to investing flows from a single, bedrock principle: the future is unpredictable and uncertain. Indeed – and this is actually quite interesting – even having knowledge of the future doesn’t provide actionable insight as to how markets will behave given that future.” So begins our book, Thinking About Investing: Two Decades of Reflective Commentary on Markets and Money. Each of …